Capdau's Early Childhood Program Receives 'Excellent' Rating

Pierre A. Capdau Charter School’s Early Childhood Program has been named among the best in the state.

The school received a rating of “excellent,” the highest possible rating, from the Louisiana Department of Education and earned a spot on the department’s Honor Roll for its performance during the 2018-19 school year. Just 113 sites across the state and only four in Orleans Parish earned the excellent rating. This is the second year in a row Pierre A. Capdau has been rated excellent.

“We have to make the investment on the front end. We have to lay a good foundation. The child's future depends on it. Our future depends on it,” Pierre A. Capdau Principal Dr. Jacquelyn Mahatha said. “If we can get children excited about learning in the early years, and sustain that excitement, just imagine what we have done for that child, for that family, for us. It's the ‘trickle up effect’. Those students who have come from strong early childhood programs have an advantage out the gate if they have developed a love of education, for learning, discovery, and play. Each year they progress to the next grade level that thirst and desire for knowledge only grows. It doesn't become a burden or a struggle if they have had a good foundation”

Mahatha credits the implementation of a Tier 1 early childhood curriculum and a program that stresses the importance of exploring, play and addressing the needs of the whole child by teachers who provide a caring but structured environment with high expectations for each student as keys to the program’s success.

Teacher Ashleigh Grandpre said continuous improvement in not only curriculum but with student and parent interaction as well has helped her create a well-rounded program.

I want to make sure I give them all the tools they need to excel in kindergarten and beyond,” she said. “I’m the first person they see when they start school and I want to make sure I set them up for success and make sure it’s fun so they believe school is fun. For a lot of our parents this is their first child so it’s important to help them as well and make sure they are getting the information at home that they need.”

Louisiana uses the CLASS® rating tool to measure, inform and support improvement on the core elements needed for early childhood classroom quality. Classrooms are rated in three areas: Emotional Support (warm and positive environment with trusting adults), Classroom Organization (daily organized routines and structures) and Instructional Support (students are supported to learn concepts, develop language skills and connect ideas through dialogue and play). According to the Louisiana Department of Education, the evaluation tool is used nationally and internationally, meaning the sites that make the Honor Roll are among the best in the world.

The Honor Roll, now in its third year, accompanies the annual release of performance ratings. Each site will receive a special badge on their performance profiles in the Louisiana School and Center Finder, as well as a state certificate to display on-site.